


Resurrection

by lyryk (s_k)



Category: Pirates of the Caribbean (Movies)
Genre: F/M, James Lives, M/M, post-AWE
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-03-22
Updated: 2009-03-22
Packaged: 2019-07-23 20:23:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16166333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/s_k/pseuds/lyryk





	Resurrection

In the time that she has been away from her husband, the man who has returned to her thoughts most often is not her husband.

‘Come with me,’ she had said to him on the ship on which he had died, and he had stayed. She dimly recalls screaming his name from the water after he had cut the rope she had been clinging to; cut it to save her life and leave himself with no means of escape.

And now, months later, he is here at her doorstep, his arm slung around Captain Jack Sparrow’s shoulders as he leans on him for support, gasping for breath, as if breathing is something he has become unaccustomed to. 

 

—

 

He is the ideal patient. He eats and drinks everything she gives him and rarely says a word, even when she addresses him directly. 

She does not dare to use his first name, and he does not grace her name by speaking it. 

When he is strong enough to be out of bed for long, he is often to be found at the window, looking out to sea. If she surprises him at such moments, she sees a fierce longing in his eyes that speaks of something she is not privy to, a heartfelt yearning that transforms his pain-dimmed eyes into the most exquisite green. She interprets it as his longing for the sea. 

 

—

 

He turns to her as she enters the parlour, the candlelight flickering in his eyes and raising bronze highlights in his hair, and she is overcome by such a wave of longing for him that she has to sit down.

‘Elizabeth?’ It is the first time that he has said her name, and she looks up.

He is beside her then, his hand reaching tentatively to rest on her arm, his eyes concerned. ‘Are you all right?’

‘No,’ she finds herself whispering fiercely. ‘No, I’m not all right.’

She gets to her feet, knowing that she must do this or go insane. Do this or regret it to the end of her days.

His eyes never leave hers as she puts her hands on his shoulders and, using them for support, raises herself on her toes and kisses him. It is not the most passionate of kisses, for her lips have barely touched his when the feel of his mouth against hers undoes her, and she gasps and pulls back, her hands clutching at his coat. Then his hands are strong against her waist, holding her body upright against his own. His eyes look searchingly into hers, and there is no surprise in them, just understanding and something else, that something that makes him James, that indefinable thing that makes her forget everything except how he is looking at her, and how warm his body is against hers. 

_Is this what you really want?_ the eyes seem to ask, and her fingers clutch his coat more tightly. ‘Please,’ she whispers. ‘James, please.’

There is an answering spark of affection and concurrence in his eyes, and he smiles at her before his hands release their hold on her waist and his arms slide around her, drawing her close into him. He tilts his head and leans down to brush his lips gently against hers.

A small sound escapes her lips, and her hands move up into his hair of their own volition. She feels that she will not be able to bear more than the briefest touch of his lips on hers, but the thought of those lips leaving hers is far more unbearable. He allows her to thread her fingers through his hair and his encircling arms tighten as his lips press closer against hers. She shuts her eyes tightly and whimpers as his tongue lightly traces the outline of her lips before teasing them apart.

All her vivid fantasies about being held by him like this become dim shadows in a heartbeat, somewhere between the moment her lips part for him and his tongue slides tenderly into her mouth, sending a bolt of pleasure crackling through her body, and she moans deeply, holding on to him for dear life as he subjects her mouth to the sweetest plundering imaginable.

He slows the kiss in degrees, his mouth letting go of hers gently, sweetly. 

She imagines they have both caught a glimpse of what may have happened, but in another life.

 

— 

   
The closer it gets to Jack Sparrow’s return, the more time he spends watching the sea. Watching him watch the sea, Elizabeth is struck by the startling thought that perhaps the sea is not the only thing that James Norrington’s heart seeks to return to.

Her suspicion is all but confirmed the day Jack returns for James. The pirate all but throws himself into James’s arms when they meet. He feeds James pieces of food from his plate when they eat, although the other man has his own plate in front of him.

And he calls him _Jim_.

The little endearment does not leave Jack’s lips very often, but the very thought of it makes a wanton shiver run down her spine. The thought of it. _The thought of what?_ she wonders to herself, not daring to allow her mind to spell it out. 

_It_ , whatever it may be, does nothing to decrease her longing for the man who had once been her fiancé.

He leaves with his pirate and she knows that the memory of this man will suffice for the years that she has to spend alone. It will have to be enough.  
 


End file.
